Great Peugeot rally cars

Profiling two of Peugeot's finest rally cars, the 205 T16 and 206 WRC.

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The 206 WRC in high-flying action

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The 205 T16 competed in Group B rallying

By Paul Hudson

3:12PM BST 28 Sep 2010

Peugeot has pedigree in top-flight rallying, including the 504 Coupé. However, its most famous car is the 205 T16 of 1984-86. On the outside, there’s a family resemblance to the humble and much-missed 205 supermini, but the Group B World Rally Championship regulations of the time permitted outrageous modifications in the name of outright speed on the world’s special stages.

To this end, the four-cylinder, 1,775cc engine was relocated to just ahead of the rear wheels, with a turbocharger boosting peak power to 450bhp in later versions. Like its rivals, it had four-wheel drive, as well as lightweight carbon-fibre and plastic bodywork that lifted at the rear to allow access to the transversely mounted engine.

The car clinched the 1985 and 1986 Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles with Timo Salonen and Juha Kankkunen, against the mighty Audi Quattro and Lancia 037.

More recently, Peugeot won the World Rally Championship Constructors’ title from 2000 to 2002 with the 206 WRC, with Marcus Gronholm taking the Drivers’ title in 2000 and 2002.

Based on the 206 hatchback, this was created to more stringent regulations than those shaping the 205 T16, although many of the team working on the project had worked on the earlier car. As in many other competition formulae, development in rallying was moving towards increasingly sophisticated electronics.

The 206 WRC had a 2.0-litre engine located transversely in the conventional position at the front, driving all four wheels via a longitudinally mounted sequential gearbox and electronically controlled front and centre differentials.